News Brief

Only 2,500 Arabs are scheduled to leave this summer on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, the holy places of Islam in Saudi Arabia, compared to more than 6,000 in previous years. The reasons for the decrease — a levy of about $400 imposed by the Saudi authorities on each visitor, the limit of the Jordanian authorities on the entry of men younger than 26, and a fare of about $1,000.